Dayton and Mr. Myers walked back into the store together and got hit with the usual LittleMart atmosphere all at once: bright boutique lighting, the clean sting of sanitizer, and that quiet, curated calm that tried to make “consumer captivity” feel like self-care.
A concierge intercepted them before they’d made it three steps.
She was tall, brown-haired, and dressed in the kind of professional-black that said I am paid to be unflappable. Her smile was practiced, but not fake.
“Hi, I’m Gretchen. I’ll be your LittleMart concierge today,” she said, hands neatly folded. “Are you shopping with a Little?”
Dayton didn’t miss a beat. “Yes and no. Mine’s at home, but Kinsley’s here somewhere.” She leaned in slightly like they were co-conspirators. “Also I’d like one of those lemonades with the strawberry in it.”
Gretchen blinked, the script in her head visibly buffering. “A… lemonade?”
Dayton nodded like this was the most normal request on earth. “They’re in the back fridge. Not the breakroom fridge. The back room fridge. Third shelf. Grab one of the ones toward the back because the front row is always kinda warm.” She smiled, bright and shameless. “Actually make it two. Nicole will be mad if I don’t get her one but she won’t say she’s mad, she’ll just do that face.” Dayton glanced at Mr. Myers. “You want anything? They have these really good soft pretzels.”
Mr. Myers exhaled through his nose. “No, thank you. And Dayton… you can’t just walk in here and make demands of staff.”
“I’m not making demands,” Dayton said instantly, like the words were on a trigger. “I’m asking for lemonade. Chloe keeps it in the back. It’d be rude if I just walked back there myself. I don’t work here. Chloe and Sara don’t mind.”
Mr. Myers shot her a look. “Sara doesn’t work here either. This isn’t her store.”
Dayton turned her head and pointed like she’d been waiting for this moment her whole life. “Uh-huh. The giant twenty-foot Sara Reeves display over there says otherwise.” Her mouth quirked. “She works at every LittleMart because she’s the official spokesperson and Jordy is the SpokesLittle. He literally has a boat in one of the ads. Also she’s with Chloe, so it’s basically her store by proxy.”
Mr. Myers opened his mouth.
Gretchen saved him.
“It’s really not a problem,” she said smoothly, like she was extinguishing a tiny social fire. “Dayton is… definitely recognized here.” Her smile sharpened with polite amusement. “I’ll bring the lemonades out to you. And I can bring a Little-size lemonade for your guest Little when I find her.”
Dayton beamed. “Thanks, Gretch. I’ll give you a good review to Chloe.”
Mr. Myers waited until they’d walked past the concierge station and lowered his voice. “Dayton… you’re a VIP?”
Dayton shrugged like it was nothing, but her tone gave her away. She liked it. She liked it a lot. “Yeah. I come here with Sara and Chloe all the time.” She gestured around them with casual familiarity. “This is one of the flagship stores since it’s so close to Generitech. The one in the mall is a bit better, I think, but it’s always packed and everyone acts feral.”
Mr. Myers glanced up at the ceiling. “It is… huge.”
“It used to be a warehouse,” Dayton said, pleased he’d noticed. “That’s why it has the thirty-three-foot ceiling and it’s a perfect rectangle. It’s like… the Minecraft version of a store.” She scanned the aisles. “Okay. Do you think Nicole and Kinsley went to Little Electronics, or are they being responsible and getting supplies first?”
Mr. Myers didn’t answer fast enough.
Dayton answered for him. “They’re doing supplies. Kinsley wants electronics. Nicole is in Guardian Mode and will not let her even look at a screen until she’s done being serious.”
Then Dayton cupped her hands and shouted down an aisle like it was a stadium.
“KINSLAYER!”
Two shoppers turned. One teen in a Guardian hoodie smirked like Dayton had just committed a misdemeanor against public peace.
Mr. Myers didn’t flinch. He just sighed the long-suffering sigh of a father who’s heard worse in his own kitchen.
Dayton pointed. “There. I heard Nicole’s voice. That’s them.”
They walked toward it, and Mr. Myers’ pace slowed slightly, like he was bracing himself for the sight in a way he didn’t want to admit. Then, softer, he said, “Thanks, Dayton.”
Dayton glanced up. “For what?”
“For… still being her friend like nothing’s changed.” His voice stayed steady, but it sat on something tender. “It means a lot to us.”
Dayton’s expression tightened for a second. Not defensive. Not embarrassed. Just… honest.
“Kinsley being a Little sucks,” Dayton said, blunt. “Like, it’s stupid. She’s better than most people in this city and now she has to live under someone else’s rules forever.” Her jaw set. “But she’s still my friend. Species, rights, status… that’s paperwork. That’s not who she is.”
Mr. Myers nodded once, like he’d store that sentence somewhere safe. “It’s still appreciated.”
Dayton’s eyes flicked ahead toward the aisle where Nicole and Kinsley were waiting. The corner of her mouth tugged up again, her usual sharpness returning like a shield.
“Besides,” she added, voice brightening, “she loves it when I call her Kinslayer.”
Mr. Myers made a doubtful noise.
Dayton grinned. “She hates it. Which is why I worked so hard to get the team to adopt it. It’s the little things in life, Mr. Myers.” She clasped her hands together with mock sincerity. “Like seeing one of your favorite people forced to endure a terrible nickname for years. That’s friendship.”
And then, with that mix of sincerity and chaos that only thirteen-year-olds can pull off without bursting into flames, Dayton turned the corner into the aisle where Nicole and Kinsley were.
lol what a brat. Does Mallory do this too cause she knows sara and chloe?
Well to be fair the intent is chloe is allowing it as she doesn’t care if Dayton helps herself.
She was nice about it.
But Mallory doesn’t as she isn’t basically Sara’s sister.
she could have been nicer imo lol. my family used to own a restaurant and i’d always call my parents and ask if i could have something for free or if my friends could before going even though i knew everyone who worked there. just the polite thing to do.
Oh Dayton isn’t that level of nice. This is Dayton Harris your talking about
A nice light episode today. Kinsley hating the nickname Kinslayer, and Nicole not letting her look at electronics, is pretty funny though, because I’m imagining Kinsley going “I need it” at every piece of tech in the store.
Nicole acting like a true big sister lol
I love that Kinsley is a big little and will get bigger with a growth spirt when she gets older. It makes her a stand out person in the little community and makes her easier to feel real when her sister or Dayton holds her. I am guessing she could be a little mart spokes little if she get to be almost 9 inch’s which I would guess would be a little record lol.
1) “They’re in the back fridge. Not the breakroom fridge. The back room fridge. Third shelf. Grab one of the ones toward the back because the front row is always kinda warm.” Someone’s learned a secret from Sara and/orChloe
2) “No, thank you. And Dayton… you can’t just walk in here and make demands of staff.” I’m not surprised Dayton has these kinds of manners when talking to retail staff; she’s always seemed like a Karen
3) “Chloe keeps it in the back. It’d be rude if I just walked back there myself. I don’t work here. Chloe and Sara don’t mind.” Dayton name-dropping cor clout
4.1) “The giant twenty-foot Sara Reeves” Well, that’s gonna star in my next nightmare
4.2) “Also she’s with Chloe, so it’s basically her store by proxy.” Mr Myres finding out before Tiff is wild,
5.1) “It’s really not a problem, Dayton is… definitely recognised here.” Someone
5.2). “I’ll bring the lemonades out to you. And I can bring a Little-size lemonade for your guest, Little, when I find her.” That’s actually good service
5.3) “Thanks, Gretch. I’ll give you a good review to Chloe.” and that’s the source of Dayton’s power, vaguely benignly associated with the Gracewoods.
6) “Dayton… you’re a VIP?” – “Yeah. I come here with Sara and Chloe all the time.” With how often she name-drops Sara and Chloe, I feel like he should have figured it out.
7) “KINSLAYER!” Kinsley’s nickname is that of someone who slays their own kin?
8) “For… still being her friend like nothing’s changed. It means a lot to us.” It’s definitely what Last year’s Dayton would have done. Frankly, it’s a shock that this year’s Dayton did.
9) “Kinsley being a Little sucks, Like, it’s stupid. She’s better than most people in this city and now she has to live under someone else’s rules forever. But she’s still my friend. Species, rights, status… that’s paperwork. That’s not who she is.” I do think that’s a good way to view it, but that’s why it feels off coming from Dayton.
10) “She hates it. Which is why I worked so hard to get the team to adopt it. It’s the little things in life, Mr. Myers. Like seeing one of your favorite people forced to endure a terrible nickname for years. That’s friendship.” That’s the kind of bullying I’d have thought Dayton’d love. (also not too far off what Sara did to Jordan initially)
Again we see that Dayton hates the rules when it comes to Kinsley, will it eventually transfer over to other Littles?
Mr. Myers must have had his head in the sand to not know that Sara was involved with both Chloe and LittleMart, but sometimes Dads are that way.
Dayton’s name dropping and attitude towards “strangers” is not a good personality trait. I can see her as an adult with the same manners. Hopefully some day it will backfire on her.
I’ll give Mr. Myers the benefit of the doubt and assume he isn’t as aware of Sara as Nicole and Kinsley are. Cause yeah that’s a huge thing to just not know about lol